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The Callahan Cousins: Summer Begins
Elizabeth Doyle Carey
Chapter Book
Ages 8 to 12
Little Brown, 2005, 0-316-73690-2
Hillary is feeling wonderfully excited and hopeful but she is also anxious. She and her three cousins are going to spend the summer with their grandmother Gee on Gull Island. Hillary is worried that perhaps she isn't really a proper Callahan anymore because her parents are no longer together. Will she belong on Gull Island now, and is there something she can do to make sure that everyone sees that she still is a Callahan through and through?
What Hill decides to do is to bring back an old tradition. When her father and the fathers of her cousins lived on Gull Island, the boys had a kind of feud with another family on the island. The Callahan and the Bicket boys fought over which of them were "real Gull Islanders" and it was a feud which turned sour and bitter. Perhaps if she can make the ultimate statement Hill can prove her worthiness.
So Hill, Neeve, Phoebe, and Kate set about getting a boat and themselves seaworthy so that they can sail to Little Gull Island. There they will plant their family flag and thus establish once and for all that the Callahan's are worthy of respect and honor.
Divorce is almost always hard on children in one way or another. Hillary's struggle with trying to figure out who she is is both poignant and understandable. Her search for belongingness against the backdrop of a lovely island in summer is very accessible and the adventures that she has with her colourful cousins are entertaining, and at times, amusing.
This is the first book in a series about the Callahan cousins.
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